Silver Dollars, Texas, Queen Victoria, and the Jews

If God is truly omniscient (all-knowing), we’d expect Him to know the future. And if God knows the future, we’d expect Him to share at least some of those secrets with His friends, wouldn’t we? And He has! Those secrets are called Bible prophecies. For example, did you know that God gave and fulfilled over 300 prophecies at the first coming of Jesus His Son? They include His birth in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), His cleansing of the Temple (Malachi 3:1), His betrayal by a friend (Psalm 41:9), His crucifixion with two thieves (Isaiah 53:12), the piercing of His hands and feet (Psalm 22:16), His burial in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9), and His resurrection from the dead (Psalm 16:10).

In his book, Science Speaks, Peter Stoner calculates the odds of just 8 of these prophecies coming true in one person’s life as 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. To illustrate the impossibility of this happening as a result of coincidence, he likens it to covering the state of Texas with silver dollars two feet deep, marking just one of them with an X, stirring the whole mass thoroughly, and then blindfolding a man and giving him one chance to pick out the right coin. What is the likelihood of him choosing the correct silver dollar? The same chance of the prophecies of Christ’s first coming being fulfilled in the life of One Person. But they were perfectly fulfilled because God is perfect in knowledge and wisdom, and He loves to share that knowledge and wisdom with those He loves.

Of course, there are still hundreds of prophecies to be fulfilled at Christ’s second coming. One of the most remarkable is a prophecy revealed to Queen Victoria by her Jewish prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli. In one of her more thoughtful moments, she asked him, “Can you give me one verse from the Bible to prove it’s true?” He replied, “Your majesty, I can give you one word—the Jew!” He was right. What other people on earth has ever been invaded, conquered, and led captive into all nations not only to survive, but also to retain their own unique identity and after 1900 years of wandering, to return to their own homeland and become a great nation again? That has never happened to any other people, but it has happened to the Jews. And the amazing thing is that it was all predicted long ago by the Bible prophets through the inspiration of God’s Spirit.

Jesus warned, for example, that due to their unbelief, the nation of Israel would be destroyed and the people scattered throughout the nations (Luke 21:20-24). This was fulfilled starting with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. and extending all the way through the Holocaust of World War II. And yet, God also promised that He would never forget His people, but would bring them back to their Promised Land. Ezekiel 37 describes their initial regathering as that of “dry bones.” In other words, they would initially be regathered in unbelief without the Spirit of God living in their hearts. This is what we see in Israel today—5 million Jews living in the most modern, the militarily strongest, and only democratic nation in the Middle East. Yet 80% of the Jewish people describe themselves as agnostic, not even sure if the God of the Bible exists.

Israel’s rebirth as a nation took place May 14, 1948, when David Ben Gurion, Israel’s newly elected president, stood before the microphone in Tel Aviv and announced that for the first time in 1878 years, Israel was again an independent nation living in the land of their forefathers. His announcement was immediately followed by an attack from five Arab nations much larger and stronger than Israel. Yet Israel survived! One of the greatest stories from their war of independence is how one single kibbutz in southern Israel held off the entire Egyptian army for days until reinforcements arrived from Tel Aviv.

Then in 1967, they were attacked again, this time by Egypt and Jordan. Providentially, Mossad (Israeli intelligence) found out about the attack before it could happen. They sent their fighter jets to Egypt, wiped out the entire air force while it was still on the ground, and then turned to attack Jordan, driving its forces out of Jerusalem. And for the first time in 1897 years, the Jewish people had control of their ancient capital once again, the soldiers weeping with joy at the Wailing Wall. All of this was predicted by the Bible, revealing once again the supernatural knowledge, wisdom, and planning of Almighty God.

Luke 21:24 is one more verse worth mentioning because here Jesus warned, speaking of the Jews, “They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” Why is this prophecy important? Because it means the time is short! Jerusalem is no longer being trampled on by the Gentiles. It’s in Jewish hands, which means the times of the Gentiles are coming to an end and that the Lord Jesus is preparing to return from heaven even as I write.

Israeli soldiers kissing the Wailing Wall in June of 1967

What a brilliant God we serve! His infinite knowledge is on display for all to see. So trust Him! Trust Him to apply His perfect wisdom to your needs and thank Him that no problem is too big for Him to solve. Proverbs 3:5-6 urges us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Tomorrow I will continue this study with a third vital fact: God’s knowledge is pictured in creation. Come back and enjoy this great truth with us, and share it with a friend who may be in deeper need of God’s encouragement than you.

2 responses to “Silver Dollars, Texas, Queen Victoria, and the Jews”

Yesterday, while I was at work, my sister stole my iPad and tested to see if it can survive a 30 foot drop,
just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad
is now broken and she has 83 views. I know this is completely off topic but I had to share
it with someone!

Dr. & Mrs. Gary A. Schwarz

Gary and Cheryl are founders of Principles for Life Ministries. They have been happily married for 44 years, working side-by-side as pastor and wife in several Bible-believing churches and also as missionary teachers in Romania and Central America. They have two beautiful Christian daughters, Heidi and Rebecca, who are both married to good Christian men, Ben and Aaron. Ben and Heidi lead a full-time ministry called Chasing Ebenezer. Aaron is an IT specialist. He and Rebecca have a 6-year old son named Malcolm and a 3-year old daughter named Moriah. (3 John 4) We all live in the Portland, Oregon area.